Faith, Love, and Mercy
Jeremiah 8:9-13 – New International Version (NIV)
9 The wise will be put to shame;
they will be dismayed and trapped.
Since they have rejected the word of the Lord,
what kind of wisdom do they have?
10 Therefore I will give their wives to other men
and their fields to new owners.
From the least to the greatest,
all are greedy for gain;
prophets and priests alike,
all practice deceit.
11 They dress the wound of my people
as though it were not serious.
“Peace, peace,” they say,
when there is no peace.
12 Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
No, they have no shame at all;
they do not even know how to blush.
So they will fall among the fallen;
they will be brought down when they are punished,
says the Lord.
13 “‘I will take away their harvest,
declares the Lord.
There will be no grapes on the vine.
There will be no figs on the tree,
and their leaves will wither.
What I have given them
will be taken from them.’”
How do the wise show they don’t have wisdom (verse 9)?
Who is “greedy for gain” (verse 10)?
What do they say “when there is no peace” (verse 11)?
What don’t they know how to do (verse 12)?
What will happen to the fig tree (verse 13)?
In your
opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your
opinion, what does this passage help us understand about what God asks of us?
Matthew 21:18-22 - New International
Version (NIV)
18 Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he
was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the
road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to
it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.
20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig
tree wither so quickly?” they asked.
21 Jesus replied, “Truly I
tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was
done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw
yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask
for in prayer.”
When was Jesus going “back to the city”
(verse 18)?
What was on the fig tree (verse 19)?
Why did the tree
wither (verse 19)?
Who ask “how did the fig tree
wither so quickly” (verse 20)?
In your
opinion, what is harder; to have faith or to not doubt (verse 21)?
What will
happen if someone with faith tells a mountain to throw itself “into the sea”
(verse 21)?
What happens
if someone believes and asks in prayer (verse 22)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your
opinion, what does this passage help us understand about what God asks of us?
In your
opinion, what does the fig tree without figs in Jeremiah 8:9-13 help us
understand about what the fig tree in Matthew 21:18-22 might represent?
1 Corinthians 13:1-7 - New International Version (NIV)
1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of
angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging
cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can
fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a
faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am
nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and
give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I
gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It
does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It
does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily
angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does
not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It
always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
When is a Christian a “resounding gong or a clanging cymbal” (verse
1)?
What is a Christian with faith that can move mountains and
no love (verse 2)?
Who gains nothing when they give all they possess to the
poor (verse 3)?
What is kind (verse 4)?
What does love not keep a record of (verse 5)?
What does love rejoice with (verse 6)?
When does love hope (verse 7)?
In your opinion,
what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, what does this passage help us understand
about what God asks of us?
In your opinion, what might be similar for those who have no
shame in Jeremian 8:9-13 and those who don’t have love in 1 Corinthians 13:1-7?
In your opinion, what do the statements about moving
mountains in Matthew 21:18-22 and in 1 Corinthians 13:1-17 help us understand
about faith?
Jude 1:17-23 - New International Version (NIV)
17 But, dear friends, remember what the
apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They
said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow
their own ungodly desires. 19 These are the people who divide
you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.
20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves
up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep
yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus
Christ to bring you to eternal life.
22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 save
others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with
fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
Whose words does Jude want us to remember (verse 17)?
When will there “be scoffers who follow their own
ungodly desires” (verse 18)?
What do these people who divide us not have (verse 19)?
How are Christians to keep themselves “in God’s love”
(verses 20 and 21)?
Who should Christians be merciful to (verse 22)?
How should some be saved (verse 23)?
In your opinion, what does it mean to “show mercy, mixed
with fear” (verse 23)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, what does this passage help us understand
about what God asks of us?
In your opinion, how
does Jude 1:17-23 guide Christians in a world full of people like those that
Jeremiah 8:9-13 describes?
In your opinion, what do the statements about doubt in
Matthew 21:18-22 and in Jude 1:17-23 help us understand faith?
In your opinion, how do the statements describing love in 1
Corinthians 13:1-17 provide guidance for following the instructions in Jude 1:17-23
to keep ourselves “in God’s love”?
In your
opinion, what do these passages from Jeremiah, Matthew, 1 Corinthians, and Jude
teach us about the difference between those who reject God and those who trust
in His mercy?
In
your opinion, what should our response to God’s call be today?
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
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